Wild-eyed Extremist Enters Public School with Four Shotguns!

No arrests were made.


And he was thanked for doing so.


Once again it’s trap shooting season at our kids’ high school (now I suppose I have to qualify; by “our kids” I do NOT mean kids in general as though they’re all “ours” and “We” are all responsible for raising them and feeding them, etc., but instead I refer to the actual offspring of my wife and me) and I was invited to teach the required gun safety class again this year.  The FFA shooting team consists of 9th through 12th graders, and we had around 13 show up for the class.


I had to get special permission just to bring the guns into the school (with no live ammo of course) and even then I could not have the students physically touch them.  I had to use the guns only as props, to explain some of the different action types.  A friend even loaned me a 16 gauge, bolt-action shotgun– a Mossberg 190– detachable box magazine, ported barrel and adjustable choke, and kids thought it was cool, which of course it is.  Smart kids.


The NRA safety courses have each student, in turn, demonstrate their ability to safely load and unload each action type, using inert ammunition, while also demonstrating proper muzzle and trigger discipline.  That of course gives the student the far better understanding that only comes from hands-on experience, but it was meant not to be.  The one condition placed on my being allowed to bring guns in was that only I could touch them.  A good and proper safety class would be too dangerous, I suppose, yet they allow bicycles (and even automobiles!) on campus.  Go figure.


Still and all; there was more appreciation showed this year, both from the students and their parents, and I saw more gleams in more eyes than before as parents made a point of coming over and thanking me before leaving.  In the past they’ve been more interested in simply getting home.  It may be my imagination, or wishful thinking, but I’m sensing a change in attitudes, as more people are talking amongst the community.

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3 thoughts on “Wild-eyed Extremist Enters Public School with Four Shotguns!

  1. High school trap team is one of my best memories. Was a founding member and a few years later, the team won their division at Vandalia.

  2. If this was mandatory training in all schools in the US, maybe we wouldn’t have the acciddental shootings we have.

    Kudos to you for doing this, and to the bravery of the school for going against the liberal tide.

    And it is really nice to hear that parents are appreciating what you are doing.

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